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The History of Swear Words: Where the &%@! Do They Come From?

From ancient rome to the renaissance, dive into the surprising origins and history of swear words..

Don’t deny it: Sometimes, swearing just feels good. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that dropping the occasionally profanity bomb is actually good for us, too — at least, according to science .

Research has shown that swearing can boost pain tolerance , foster emotional resilience and signal positive traits like verbal fluency and honesty . What’s more, spewing obscenities has the potential to impact our bodies as well as our minds, providing stress relief and even a slight boost in physical performance .

Given their ubiquity in society, it can seem like swear words simply sprouted into existence. But where, exactly, does profane language come from? From ancient Rome to the Renaissance to today, there’s lots that the history of swearing can teach us about how taboos, language and culture evolve — and it can provide a glimpse of the future of (mostly) four-letter words.

The History of Swear Words

Simply put, swearing is taboo language: particular words that certain people deem unacceptable in specific settings within a given culture.

“The words that come to fill that role come from certain places in the human experience,” says Benjamin Bergen, a linguist and cognitive scientist at the University of California, San Diego, and author of What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves. “They tend to describe things that are themselves taboo.”

Historically, Bergen continues, taboo language has tended to revolve around religion; in Judeo-Christian and Muslim traditions, profanity emerges when words selected for specific functions are stripped of their intent and used outside of religious contexts. (In Latin, the word profanus translates to “outside the temple,” signifying words that desecrate sacred precepts.)

As such, words in English like holy , hell and goddamn — or even names of religious figures like Jesus Christ — become swears when they’re used accordingly, even if they're pretty tame by today's standards.

Read More: New Evidence for How Languages Spread 10,000 Years Ago

Other Origins of Curse Words

Beyond religion, profanity can also come from language involving sex and sexual acts, as well as bodily functions — in the latter category, you can find words describing vomit, urine and, of course, feces. In certain cultures, death and disease can even become fodder for profane language. In Dutch, for example, a long list of expletives are derived from the names of diseases , like the extremely-offensive Kankerlijer , which literally translates to “cancer-sufferer.”

“It’s the same general phenomenon [in all cases],” says Bergen. “A taboo about the world becomes a taboo about the word.”

Lastly, there are slurs — among the most offensive of all profanity, according to several studies that rank the offensiveness of English swear words. These derogatory terms refer to members of groups perceived as being defined by their race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation, among others. And, according to Bergen, the prominence of slurs in the U.S. is on the rise.

“There’s very clear, empirical evidence that not only is there more of [this type of language], but it’s also judged to be more offensive, at least by younger Americans,” he says.

Read More: Swearing Like A Sailor May Not Be Such A Bad Thing

Swear Words in Ancient Rome

The history of swearing is filled with fascinating twists and turns. But, perhaps surprisingly, obscenity in Latin shares a few striking similarities with swearing today, with both drawing from taboos about sex and excrement. The sexual and cultural norms of ancient Rome, however, were markedly different from ours, giving rise to some unique profanity.

“You get swear words from the cultural preoccupations of the time,” says Melissa Mohr, author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing. “One of the key Roman preoccupations was, ‘What does it mean to be a man?’ They had all of these different words for man , and the best kind of man you could be was a vir , and that’s where we get the word virtuous .”

In ancient Rome, Mohr continues, it was socially acceptable for a virtuous Roman man to have sex with people of any gender, for example, so long as he was the active participant. (As such, one of the surest ways to sling mud at a Roman man was to use language putting them in a passive sexual position.) Meanwhile, if a woman was active during sex, that was deemed taboo by society.

“When you transgress the rules, that’s where you get the swear words,” adds Mohr.

Read More: Eight Ancient Languages Still Spoken Today

Swearing in the Middle Ages

By the Middle Ages, our cultural norms were quite different from those in antiquity; now, religion was an even more dominant force in society. As such, religious oaths — promises before God that your words are true and you’ll do what you say — that were made falsely became the predominant form of profanity.

“The cultural preoccupation [in the Middle Ages] is how and when you use God’s name,” says Mohr. “If you were having a criminal trial, you could be found not guilty just because you swore that you were a good person. […] So when you get vain swearing, which is what they’re worried about, that’s when you swear and you’re lying or you’re not sincere.”

So if you were, say, gambling in the Middle Ages and lost, you might cry out, “By God’s bones!” In particular, oaths on God’s body parts — other examples include “by God’s wounds” or “by the blood of Christ” — were the most obscene phrases you could say. These swears were deemed so shocking because people thought that saying them was akin to ripping apart the body of Christ in heaven, in a perversion of the Eucharist here on Earth.

Over the centuries, however, the perverse power of religious oaths began to fade. Mohr says that the decline started during the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s , with traditional religion playing a less central role in people’s lives.

“Basically, in Catholicism, God is more reachable; there was a sense [during the Middle Ages] that swearing was really directly connected to God and that vain swearing was really bad when you did it,” she says. “And with the Protestant Reformation, it’s no longer God’s physical body; it’s his spiritual body. […] With the decline of religiosity, this has basically been on a downward trend for hundreds of years.”

Read More: By God's Bones: Bad Words in the Middle Ages Were Nothing Like Today’s

Modern Obscenity Was Born During the Renaissance

During the Renaissance, swearing started to more closely resemble modern profanity. Terms that had simply been direct or descriptive during the Middle Ages — like the C-word, which could once be found in medical treatises describing anatomy — began to take over as the new swear words.

“Most of the bad words were around in the Middle Ages, they just weren’t swear words,” says Mohr.

These swears, often sexual or scatological in nature, reached their peak offensiveness during the Victorian era. This is when profanities largely vanished from print and speech, and polite euphemisms took their place. The societal urge to veer away from anything deemed uncouth or explicit was so strong that even now-banal words like leg and trouser were seen as taboo.

“But in private, there were all of these hints that by around 1860, people were swearing basically the same way that they are now,” says Mohr. “It just rarely made it into the record, but it’s in court cases and pornography.”

Around the dawn of the 20th century, however, profanity became much more public. During World War I and World War II, says Mohr, wartime correspondents tried to faithfully report on what soldiers were doing and saying, from trenches to submarines — including all of the colorful language they used. As a result, swearing started to bleed into newspapers and books.

“At that point, they’re saying f--- every other word,” adds Mohr. “There’s a quote [from the era] where someone said, ‘We knew it was serious if the sergeant didn’t say, ‘Get your f---ing rifle.’”

Read More: How Language Shapes Our Understanding of Reality

What Will the Swear Words of the Future Look Like?

Today, slurs are increasingly replacing other forms of profanity as the most shocking and offensive words in the English language. And while research suggests that the bulk of profanity is mostly harmless, even when used around children , slurs are a notable exception to this rule — for both the individuals being defamed and observers.

For example, Italian researchers found that being exposed to homophobic slurs led participants to dehumanize and physically distance themselves from gay men, according to a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology .

As slurs become more pervasive, both Bergen and Mohr note that it’s difficult to say whether they’ll ever lose their intent to harm and become intensifiers in language like other forms of swearing.

“One way to look at it is to say that, in hundreds of years, when we stop being discriminatory and putting people in all these silos, maybe [slurs] will just be this remnant of a time when this mattered,” says Mohr. “I hope that’s going to go away, but I feel like maybe they’ll never become the ‘seasoning’ words of the future.”

Read More: Is There Any Harm in Swearing Around Your Kids?

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The Context of a Swear Words Essay

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Language and its complexity is undeniably one of the greatest skills that humanity possesses. It has existed for tens of thousands of years and reflects the uniqueness of the human beings. The interaction, which language allows, creates endless possibilities in expression and conveying of information.

The limitless amount of words, phrases and the way they are put together, gives a chance to fully and practically communicate with others and the self. The swear words are a separate division of language, as the meaning of the swear words greatly differs from others. By one opinion, the swearing in the modern society has increased. From another perspective, the opposite might be true.

The context of a swear word is informal and foul. Sometimes, a word is used out of place, so indirectly, any word can be labeled as taboo. The present world has been greatly desensitized to swear words and often, people do not consider it as standing out. Official social figures and authorities do not use foul language, as they have an image to support. This is where the power of language demonstrates itself in the fullest spectrum of its abilities.

In the media, any kind of language is used since it is considered an art form or type of expression. As people get used to hearing these words, they stop thinking of them as “taboo”. It is the meaning behind the words. Very often, something that is stated seemingly clear, on further thought can presuppose another meaning, so swearing might be conceptual. The listener will have to analyze the situation and conditions, which were present during the speaking.

These are part of indirect speech, which in turn lead to the indirect speech acts. The word “act”, defines the meaning and the physical understanding of what is being said and, which actions will the said words lead to. There are many factors that influence the understanding and assumptions of both the speaker and the listener. As such, a society has a need for rudeness and expression of anger. Most likely, swear words will always exist in some form, as the need to differentiate from formal language cannot disappear.

Another important aspect in understanding how and what was said is the culture of a nation. Sometimes social norms are strict, so the swear words will stay taboo. The meaning attributed to certain words could absolutely change the intended meaning of the speaker. For example, in some cultures it might be impolite to directly answer a request with a no and a person unaware of that could offend the listener, without even knowing it.

This would make words different from western swear words taboo. Irony and sarcasm are other cultural attributes. A nation that accepts such things will understand the speaker and appreciate the reference made, but someone from a different background will create a negative predisposition towards the person speaking. The reputation of the speaker also plays a role in expressing unacceptable words.

A good example is, if dumbass is said by different people: a police officer, a parent and a child. The indirect context is being aligned with the individual and their position in the society. If the police officer is known to have a “foul-mouthed” reputation, this will not be a surprise and disregarded. A parent who finds their child troublemaking would have to somehow express disappointment, thus attributing ‘a negative’ meaning to the word (Verderber 2012).

Most often, some swear words have a much worse connotation because it has no connection to other words and is meant to offend. This form of speech usage appears in almost all instances of life. If someone uses words to their advantage, it can be thought of as an ‘allowed’ action.

A lot of swearing is used in comedy for entertainment effect, so it not only expected but is welcome. In reality, it is difficult to find factual support on the usage. The world is becoming more liberal, and racial, as well as gender differences are merging. The younger population gets mentally older faster, so there are whole groups of people who swear now but did not before. Also, many people have unique characters and use words that were used a long time ago.

This would mean that they are not as common and are not thought of as absolutely rude. Some examples are bloody which means ‘bad’ or Gosh referring to ‘God’. Even though they might not seem as profane today, the context is still present. The modern swear words have become sentence fillers and replace many other words. For example, shit can be used to describe some ‘things’ that were done during the day. As such, a close knowledge of the culture is necessary to ‘decode’ such usage (Hughes 2006).

Human communication is a very valuable resource and must be considered a privilege. Any abuse should not be tolerated because the results are often catastrophic, when those with all the power are able to turn the public into their ally and use it to destroy morals and peace, everyone so persistently fights for.

Works Cited

Hughes, Geoffrey. An Encyclopedia of Swearing . Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006. Print.

Verderber, Rudolph. The Challenge of Effective Speaking . Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

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Do You Use Swear Words?

A guest essayist writes about the reasons people swear and the power behind cursing. Is profanity part of your vocabulary?

By Shannon Doyne

Do you use curse words? If you use them, do you ever think about why? Does it feel good to unleash some foul language? Does it get attention? Does it help you bond with others or fit into a group?

And if you don’t, why do you avoid it?

In the Opinion essay “ The Secret Power of Swearing ,” Rebecca Roache writes about how certain words have become off-limits in polite company:

Swearing can be so satisfying that it can help us withstand pain . It can shock, offend and entertain. It can release tension or increase it. It can foster intimacy. What’s swearing’s secret? How do four-letter words move us in all the ways they do? All languages have taboos, things that nice people don’t mention in polite company, and these taboos tend to cluster around themes like religion, defecation, disease and sex — in other words, things that can harm us physically or spiritually. As the linguists Keith Allan and Kate Burridge put it, the harmfulness of taboos “ contaminates ” certain words that refer to them, making those related words taboo, too. This is usually how a word becomes a swearword. Which taboos are strongest tracks societal values. Something previously acceptable can become a taboo, or vice versa. In prudish Victorian Britain, extremely lewd street names that existed unproblematically throughout the country in the Middle Ages were bowdlerized. And in increasingly secular cultures the taboo around religious-themed words has waned. Take “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” Rhett Butler’s famous line in the film “ Gone With the Wind ”: It is far less shocking to modern ears than it was to the film’s audience in 1939 . But ghosts of once powerful taboos can continue to haunt us. Consider, as Professors Allan and Burridge do , spilling salt, which was once both expensive and spiritually significant. Throwing a pinch of spilled salt over one’s left shoulder, into the eyes of the devil that resided there, was supposed to ward off bad fortune. Lots of people still do this, but not, I suspect, to blind the devil. In a similar way, swear words, once contaminated with the disgust or power associated with a strong taboo, retain their power even as the shock value of those origins wanes. These days we mostly cause offense by swearing because swearing is a behavior that causes offense. When we swear in a context in which we can assume those around us would prefer we didn’t, that choice is a sign of our disrespect. Situating the capacity to offend in the swearer’s intent helps some puzzling things about swearing make sense, like why it’s somehow less offensive to replace a letter with an asterisk, despite the fact that everyone still knows what it means. The choice sends a message to the reader: I recognize that this word might offend you, and I care about your feelings. Because intent matters, a few asterisks can rob the word of its potency. But swearing, even without censorship or euphemism, can also be affectionately benign. To be understood this way, a listener needs to trust that the speaker is not verbally attacking but letting his or her guard down and signaling that the setting is informal and the relationship is friendly. Swearing in these contexts can even foster intimacy between recent acquaintances. Between people who already trust each other, it’s an excellent way to communicate affection.

Students, read the entire essay and then tell us:

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August 9, 2024

published by phi beta kappa

Print or web publication, on the psychology of swearing.

Could cursing be good for us?

Consider cuss words, also known as curse words, swear words, profanity, bad language, and what not to say on television. Most psychologists use taboo words, a term so nonjudgmental that it seems to pass judgment on those who would call them anything else. But however we reference them, the fact remains that they intrigue and disgust, insult and—rather surprisingly, in some circumstances—assuage us.

Why do psychologists bother studying the language of the gutter? Well, as Timothy Jay, a professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, puts it in a 2009 review (available on his website , and very worth your time), swearing is ubiquitous: “we say taboo words as soon as we speak and we continue to swear into old age even through dementia and senile decline.” And we do so at a rate of about one taboo word per 200 words. This rate, however, differs dramatically among age groups (swearing peaks in adolescence), between genders (men swear more often and more offensively), and most importantly and perhaps obviously of all, from one individual to the next.

All taboo words are not created equal. Nor are they equal-opportunity offenders. It remains unknown precisely how children acquire the nuanced contexts for a given expletive. In a sense, this is a problem children face for every word in their vocabulary. But with taboo words the stakes seems higher—and the studies undoubtedly harder to come by. What parents are going to sign up their toddler for a study with “cussing” in the title?

In any event, we know that by the time said toddler is old enough for college, his memory for taboo words in psychology experiments is excellent. Taboo words tend to be emotional words, and emotional things attract our attention and keep it. (That is why those “where were you when” moments follow tragic or inspiring events, never mildly disappointing or merely pleasant ones.) The distinctiveness of taboo words also helps us remember them. In many contexts—church, classrooms, and dare I say psychology experiments—we simply don’t expect to encounter swearing. So when we do, it stands out. Thus, changing the context in which swearing occurs can change how we experience it. Were we to read a list chock-full of taboo words (the experimental equivalent of, say, watching Goodfellas ), we’d be less likely to remember a given zinger than when reading a list full of neutral words (the experimental equivalent of watching Babe ).

Some researchers have even suggested—and here things get more controversial—that taboo words have a hold on us that goes beyond their emotional impact or distinctiveness, that we evolved to use and attend to taboo words as a survival strategy . What else, Jay observes, can “intensify” communication more efficiently than a well-placed Fuck you ?

Alternatively, though not incompatibly, we may swear simply because it makes us feel better. In a 2011 study led by Keele University’s Richard Stephens, researchers measured how long participants would keep a hand in a container of freezing water. On one trial, participants repeated a swear word of their choice. On another trial, the same participants immersed their hand without cursing. (Sometimes the no-cursing trial occurred first, sometimes second). When cursing, participants’ heart rates increased, as did the amount of time they were capable of withstanding the freezing water—from about a minute to a minute and a half. But the swearing-as-painkiller method, though intriguing, becomes less effective with repeated use: this “swearing benefit” is largest for those who swear least .

Jessica Love  holds a doctorate in cognitive psychology and edits Kellogg Insight at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

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Practical Ethics

Naughty words What makes swear words so offensive? It’s not their meaning or even their sound. Is language itself a red herring here?

• February 25, 2016 February 23, 2016

Dr Rebecca Roache, former Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics staff member, and lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, has recently published an essay on swearing in the online Aeon Magazine.  To read the full article and join in the conversation please follow this link:  https://aeon.co/essays/where-does-swearing-get-its-power-and-how-should-we-use-it .  Dr Roache has previously spoken on this topic , as reported by Prof Roger Crisp on this blog.

1 Comment on this post

Hello, thank you for this piece, just a couple of quick questions before likely others:

How are swearing words context-sensitive? . You don’t seem to acknowledge the fact that swear words have, over and above their semantic content, an expressive function — namely the function of signalling the kind of attitude, mood or “evaluative” point of view of the utterer. I think this should be added to your account because it would help explain why the same swear word can “mean” different things (i.e. constitute different components of speech acts in different contexts; such an explanation could refer to the fact that the expressive function of sweaing words modifies their semantic contribution to the speech act performed depending on features of the contex. This is why “nigga” used in a friendly fashion by two afro-americans is usually part of a different speech act as the one performed by a KKK-member trying to insult a black man.

When are swearing words immoral? You say that swearing is often not immoral, at least in cases where there is nothing more than a breach of etiquette. But this seems to leave out two important possibilities. (a) Sometimes breaching the etiquette can result in a harm, especially if the addressee knows that the speaker knows that he, the addressee, significantly values this particular etiquette or norm. If the harm in question concerns the addressee’s morally relevant interests, the harm, and therefore the offence to which it is semantially and pragmatically linked, will be immoral. (b) Even if no harm occurs, it might still be possible that using a particular swearing word contributes to evaluatively framing a situation in a way that does not fit the facts; for instance you might tell Sam about your argument with Suzy using swearing words as props to mock and delegitimate Suzy as you report the argument. Framing the situation like this might mislead your addressee in a way which is immoral in the sense of breathing your own biases into his understanding of the case at hand.

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• Writing Tips

Heck and Darn! How and When to Swear in Writing

5-minute read

• 6th August 2020

Authors use swear words in writing for various reasons, including to express strong emotions, add emphasis, shock readers or break taboos, or just to reflect how people talk in the real world (e.g., in dialogue).

But swearing can also offend people, especially if it is gratuitous. When, then, is it okay to swear in your writing ? Key factors include:

• Who you are writing for and how sensitive they are to profanity.
• How formal or professional the document needs to be.
• The intensity of the swearwords you use in your writing.

In this post, then, we’ll look at when (and when not) to swear in your writing, plus what you can do instead of swearing when it isn’t appropriate.

Who Is Your Audience?

The biggest factor when deciding whether to use profanity in your writing is the target audience. For example, swearing is obviously inappropriate if you are writing for children. Likewise, if you’re writing for adults who have very traditional views , they may be easily offended by bad language.

In cases like these, it’s best to avoid any swearing or to keep it very mild.

Swearing in Formal Writing

Swear words are rarely, if ever, appropriate in formal business or academic writing . At best, it would seem unprofessional. At worst, you could lose marks on an essay or lose a client at work.

There are some exceptions to this: if you’re studying the history of offensive language, for example, you will need to include the terms you’re discussing. But even in cases like this, you would restrict profanity to examples or quotes, not use it as part of your general writing style.

Swearing in Informal and Creative Writing

In less formal writing, there is much more room for profanity! If you’re simply emailing a friend, for instance, you are welcome to be as obscene as you like (as long as the recipient is comfortable with bad language).

In creative writing, meanwhile, swearing can be a key part of your writing style. In gritty war or crime novels, for example, a little profanity can help to create a realistic atmosphere. But you should only do this when it fits the context: constant cursing may feel out of place in a period drama about the upper classes, for instance, since we would not expect the well-mannered characters in such a book to swear all the time.

If you’re unsure about whether to use swear words in your creative writing, look at some books in your genre for pointers. Do the narrators or characters use swear words? Do they fit the tone of the novel as a whole?

Intensity of Swear Words

You may also need to consider the intensity of the swear words you use in your writing. Some swear words, for example, are considered very offensive (e.g., the f-word or the c-word). And while stronger profanities are more likely to have an impact, they are also more likely to cause offence.

Other swear words are much milder, though. And a character saying “drat” or “darn” is unlikely to shock anyone these days. So if you want to swear without causing offence, it is best to pick a mild swear word.

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The intensity of swear words can also vary across cultures. The word “w*nker,” for instance, is much less offensive in the USA than the UK. As such, American TV shows have used it for comic effect, but then caused much outrage when they were broadcast before the watershed in the UK. And Australia is famous for its relaxed attitude to swearing.

Even swear words like “damn” or “hell,” which may seem mild by modern standards, can offend people who are very religious. As such, if you are going to swear in writing, it pays to choose your profanities carefully!

Alternatives to Swearing

What, then, can you do instead of swearing in your writing? If all you’re looking for is a way to add emphasis to something, the simplest approach is to use another intensifier . For example, compare the following:

The show was bloody amazing!

The show was really amazing!

This might lack the impact of a swear word in some cases, but it expresses the same thing without any risk of causing offence.

There are also many creative ways to tone down swear-worthy moments, which can even add a touch of humor! These include:

• Child-friendly alternatives to curse words: e.g., Flipping heck!
• Using symbols in place of swears: e.g., What the f*@% are they thinking?
• Completely made-up words that have a similar sound or feel to existing swear words: e.g., “frak” in Battlestar Galactica or “smeg” in Red Dwarf .

 These will give you all the fun of swearing without any of the offence!

Summary: When to Swear in Writing

Whether to use swear words in your writing is ultimately a matter of personal preference. But we can offer some helpful guidelines on the topic:

• Do not use swear words in formal business or academic writing.
• Think about whether your audience would be offended by bad language.
• Only use swear words in creative writing when it fits the context.

In general, moreover, it is wise to hold back on profanity in writing. The odd swear word can be expressive, adding emotion and emphasis to what you’re saying. But excessive cursing will blunt this effect, so the best approach to swearing is usually to save it for when it will have the greatest impact.

To make sure your writing strikes the right tone every time, moreover, why not try out our professional proofreading services ?

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The power of swearing: how obscene words influence your mind, body and relationships

Senior Lecturer in Interpersonal Communication, Ulster University

Neuropsychologist, University of Westminster

Professor, Södertörn University

Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Keele University

Disclosure statement

Richard Stephens has prevously received research funding from Nurofen.

Catherine Loveday, Karyn Stapleton, and Kristy Beers Fägersten do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Westminster and Keele University provide funding as members of The Conversation UK.

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Swearing was long dismissed as a topic of serious research because it was assumed to be simply a sign of aggression, weak language proficiency or even low intelligence. We now have quite a lot of evidence that challenges this view, prompting us to reconsider the nature – and power – of swearing.

You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, here .

Whether we are fans of swearing or not, many of us are likely to resort to it now and again. To estimate the power of swearing, and work out where it comes from, we recently carried out a review of more than 100 academic papers on the subject from different disciplines. The study, published in Lingua , shows that the use of of taboo words can deeply affect the way we think, act and relate to each other.

People often associate swearing with catharsis – the release of strong emotion. It is undeniably different from – and more powerful than – other forms of language use. Interestingly, for speakers of more than one language, the catharsis is nearly always greater when swearing in one’s first language than any languages learned subsequently.

Swearing arouses the emotions. This can be measured in autonomic responses such as increased sweating and sometimes increased heart rate. These changes suggest that swearing can trigger the “fight or flight” function.

Neuroscientific research suggests that swearing might be located in different parts of the brain from other speech regions. Specifically, it might activate parts of the “ limbic system ” (including features known as the basal ganglia and the amygdala). These deep structures are involved in aspects of memory and emotion processing which are instinctive and difficult to inhibit . This might explain why swearing can remain intact in people who have suffered brain damage and struggle to speak as a result.

Laboratory-based experiments also show cognitive effects. We know that swear words command more attention and are better remembered than other words. But they also interfere with the cognitive processing of other words/stimuli – so it seems swearing can sometimes get in the way of thinking, too.

This may, however, be worth it – at least sometimes. In experiments requiring people to submerse a hand in icy water, swearing produces pain relief. In these studies, vocalising a swear word leads to higher pain tolerance and higher pain threshold compared with neutral words. Other studies have found increased physical strength in people after swearing.

But swearing doesn’t just influence our physical and mental selves – it also affects our relationships with others. Research in communication and linguistics has shown an array of distinctive social purposes of swearing – from expressing aggression and causing offence to social bonding, humour and story-telling . Bad language can even help us manage our identities and display intimacy and trust as well as boosting attention and dominance over other people.

Digging deeper

Despite having such a noticeable effect on our lives, we currently know very little about where swearing gets its power. Interestingly, when we hear a swear word in an unfamiliar language, it seems just like any other word and will not produce any of these outcomes – there’s nothing particular about the sound of the word itself that is universally offensive.

So, the power does not come from the words themselves. Equally, it is not inherent in the word meanings or sounds: neither euphemisms nor similar sounding words have such a profound effect on us.

One explanation is that “aversive conditioning” – the use of punishment to prevent continued swearing – typically occurs during childhood . This may establish a visceral connection between language use and emotional response. While this hypothesis sounds correct, it is weakly evidenced by only a handful of studies that have investigated memories of childhood punishment for swearing. There are almost no empirical studies of links between such memories and adult responses to swearing.

To get to the bottom of why swearing has such a profound effect on us, we need to investigate the nature of people’s memories for swearing. What were their significant swearing incidents? Did swearing always bring about unpleasant consequences, such as punishment, or were there benefits too? What about people’s ongoing experiences of swearing throughout the lifespan? After all, our research shows that swearing can sometimes help people bond with one another.

We think it might be possible for swearing to show a similar memory pattern to that for music – we remember and like the songs best that we listened to during adolescence. That’s because, like music, swearing possibly takes on new meaning in adolescence. It becomes an important way to respond to the intense emotions we tend to have during this time, and an act that signals independence from parents and connection with friends. So, swear words and songs used during this time may become forever linked with important and highly memorable experiences.

Research also needs to examine whether there is a link between memories of swearing and the effects observed in experiments. This could show whether people with more positive memories respond differently to those with negative memories.

A final point to consider is whether swearing will start to lose its power if it becomes more socially acceptable and thus loses its offensiveness. For now, however, it certainly remains a faux-pas.

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A History of Swearing and Censorship in Writing

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Part 2 in Our Series on the Grammar of Swearing

Written by Taylor Dennis

It's time to continue our awesome exploration of swearing by looking at the role historically played by swearing in written work. Last week, we looked at the etymology of seven swear words . This week, we'll be looking at the history of swearing and censorship in writing. So, what are we waiting for? Obscenity laws and Victorian prudes await!

A Brief History of Swearing in Writing

Have you ever had someone tell you that "kids these days" swear more than the young adults of days past? Maybe your grandfather has expressed disbelief at the expletives he's heard of late, or perhaps your great aunt regularly comments on how polite conversation is firmly on its way out.

Well, you can tell them that people have been laughing at their own sacrilege, bodily functions, and sexuality for as long as language has existed. Yes, those are the three topics that most swear words refer to—God, poop, and sex.

That's right. Swearing in spoken speech has always been a thing, and it has always been offensive. Though censorship and decency laws have changed drastically over the years, thereby affecting the use of swear words in published works, I can guarantee you that people have always sworn—even your grandfather.

Book Banning and Obscenity

The rules about using offensive language in writing have evolved over time. Consider, for example, the literary classic we all know and love—that incorrigible work of fanfiction, Fifty Shades of Grey .

This incredibly popular book has sold over 125 million copies worldwide since being published in 2011. But Fifty Shades isn't the only work of erotic fiction out there. Indeed, there is an entire thriving genre of literature resting solely on its sex-based laurels. And while today's sexually liberal society may be cool with characters who exist solely to copulate like bunnies, all we have to do is go back about 60 years to see how not cool people used to be with the erotic fiction scene.

By today's standards, Lady Chatterley's Lover is a very tame book. Sure, D.H. Lawrence tells the story of a married lady having an affair with a lower-class man. Yes, there are scenes in which the two do the deed in his shack. And okay, a few choice expletives are used to describe said deed and the parts used to perform it.

But Lady Chatterley's Lover is not just about sex. It's a story about repression, about classism in British society, and about the importance of having an attractive gamekeeper just in case you should find yourself experiencing a quarter-life crisis. Were the book published today, no one would even blink an eye at the sexual content.

Not the case in 1928, I'm afraid. The British government said, "No way in hell are we letting people read this shit" (or, perhaps more accurately, "Oh, heavens no!"), and Lady Chatterley's Lover was put on the shelf in the UK until 1960. Then, under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 , the British government charged Penguin, the book's publisher, for having published obscene material. Penguin won the case, and the rest, as they say, is history.

There are lots of other historical examples of books being banned for containing obscene content, and many of these examples have to do with expletives being used in the writing. Though the rules are different in the United States than in Britain, both countries have historically shared the sentiment that people simply do not need to be exposed to offensive language. Catch-22 , Tropic of Cancer , and Naked Lunch are all examples of books that have been banned at one time for being obscene.

Obscenity and Profanity in Writing Today

Obscenity laws still exist in the Western world. However, enforcement of these laws has changed. Obscenity is difficult to define. It's almost impossible to avoid offending one person without restricting the freedom of expression of another. For the creator of a work to be convicted of obscenity, that work must lack value, whether literary, artistic, scientific, or political. And you know what they say: one person's smut is another person's magnum opus .

The erotica genre doesn't qualify as obscene because it is a form of literature or art. A book full of cursing won't get you into much trouble anymore, either. If you want to drop f-bombs and poop metaphors to get your point across, go for it. Restricting the language used in books is especially difficult, because—unlike with other media, like radio broadcasts—people can generally choose what they want to read. If you don't like that asshole Christian Grey and his sadomasochistic bullshit, the solution is simple: don't read Fifty Shades of Grey .

Still, "offensive" books sometimes manage to find themselves the topic of debate and outrage. Consider Twain's classic American novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . Angry parents still stomp their feet when this novel finds its way onto their child's English class syllabus.

The racially charged language used in this 1885 satire clashes awkwardly with modern-day morals, and even though the book was published over 130 years ago, no one has quite decided yet whether Twain was actually being a brilliant satirist or a racist bigot (or both).

But while school boards and PTAs everywhere can argue the merits of exposing young adults to topics that may make them uncomfortable, they can't ban adults from reading books, and ultimately, they can't ban their children from accessing obscene material for very long, either.

Swearing in writing has an interesting history, but the story of obscenity isn't over yet. For example, even though we're analyzing this topic from a purely academic and historical perspective, some people might find this post too risqué for their liking.

Nevertheless, I'll assume that if you've made it this far, you're looking to learn more about the grammatical properties of actual swear words. If that's the case, be sure to check out next week's post , which will give you the dirty details on seven of your favorite words.

Image source: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" Print by Currier and Ives now available in the public domain.

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Taylor Dennis is a writer and editor based out of Toronto, ON. She's obsessed with dogs, food, serial commas, and the written word, pretty much exactly in that order. You can find more of her work at  taylordenniswrites.com , where she publishes a blog about life, health, and all the rest.

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Swear Words and Argumentation

Chandler Cadman

  Keywords: Curse Words, Audience, Speaker, Media, Burke

Curse words are present in every language and are used in multiple focal points of discourse throughout society, from daily conversations to media. Curse words can be defined as words that hold a level of taboo. These levels of taboo are dependent on an individual’s own set of beliefs. Because of the offensive nature of curse words, these words hold a weight that other words do not contain. If curse words fall under the category of taboo, it would make sense to assume that curse words are bad in all contexts, but this is not the case. Depending on the setting and usage in which the discourse takes place, curse words can make an argument more persuasive or less persuasive. Argumentation serves as a branch of discourse and is a node of convincing an audience of something (“Discourse Examples and Definition”). In this chapter, I analyze the positive effects of swearing in argumentation (such as humor and elicitation) and the negative effects of swearing (offending the audience and conveying a lack of education) (Jay).

First, it would be beneficial to lay out the reasons why curse words can be seen both positively and negatively from an audience’s perspective. There are a few key rhetorical theories that explain the relationship between speaker and audience. Edwin Black’s second persona focuses on a set of shared values between speaker and audience. A speaker will have a set of values that they share with their audience, but also a unique set of values and morals that do not align with the audience. Kenneth Burke argues that social identity is founded “spontaneously, intuitively, and even unconsciously.” This theory states if the audience is a predetermined entity, the speaker will go into to conversation instinctually understanding that identification with the audience members is a necessity in producing a convincing argument. Because of this, the speaker’s choice of lexicon is pertinent in staying relatable with an audience. Lastly, Maurice Charland’s constitutive rhetoric is another lens to describe the audience as an entity containing an identity. This theory explains how an audience can be swayed one way or another because, as a unit, the audience makes up their minds on whether to support the speaker’s ideals or not. In the case of curse words, observing popular media and listeners’ reactions to the use of these words may be a way to understand the effects of the words on specific audience members.

When a comedian is on stage, their goal is to convince the audience that they are funny. Often, comedians use raunchy anecdotes, hypothetical situations, and punchlines to argue the point that they are funny. A comedy set, however, has the potential to produce both positive and negative reactions in an audience. A historically controversial comedian that has gotten large scale pushback from his sets is Dave Chappelle. Due to his language, including the N word and homophobic F slur, Chappelle’s audience members have spoken out against his comedy sets. This is an example on how curse words can take away from an argument. If a comedian uses certain words and offends the audience to the point where they are angry as opposed to make them laugh, the comedian’s argument is no longer effective. The Chappelle example serves as evidence on how rhetoric containing curse words can weaken an argument for the speaker, but in other cases the exact opposite may happen.

A famous speech example from popular media containing foul language that strengthens the speaker’s argument is the fictional dialogue from Al Pacino’s character in the movie Any Given Sunday in his Inch speech. Pacino is readying his team up for an important game, and as the speech is reaching its climax, Pacino uses the F word. Although fictional, the written dialogue is meant to be realistic and mirror how a real audience would react. This use of profanity is welcomed with strong agreements and cheers from the entire team. In this instance, Pacino’s tone becomes more and more aggressive while he is giving his speech up until he uses the swear word, which in this case is a substitution for aggression but used in a constructive way to inspire the team. As Jay argues, “Swear words can achieve a number of outcomes, as when used positively for… fitting in with the crowd, or as a substitute for physical aggression.” This audience already contains an identity shared with the coach, and this moment of identification positively contributes to the outcome of his speech. The curse word Pacino uses positively enhances his argument and helps his team come together.

Curse words affect an argument because the level of agreeability within an argument is set to a spectrum, with one side of the spectrum being complete agreement, and the other side of the argument being total disagreement. It is crucial to acknowledge both sides of the spectrum so that the audience can have a better sense of the polarizing the effects of curse words. Because the number of positions and population of listeners is infinite, “Use of swear words is heavily context-sensitive and also because their meanings can be seen as expressive, rather than as referential/descriptive,” the outcomes of a negotiation would have situational implications when using curse words (Goddard). The limitation is that that every person is different, and when talking about an audience, it would be difficult to gage to what specific degree an audience is swayed. However, observing an audience through Lloyd Bitzer’s rhetorical situation, considering the audience as an entity, as students on rhetoric and argumentation we can understand whether the audience agrees or disagrees. After the presentation concludes, based on an audience’s reaction, we can observe how and why they are capable of being influenced. Moreover, conversations and arguments have an unlimited set of presenters and audience members, each with a set of morals and levels of agreeability. Because of this, it would be impossible to accurately account for every individual member of an audience when studying how a curse word may affect an audience. Jay writes that, “Swearing is positively correlated with extraversion and is a defining feature of a Type A personality. It is negatively correlated with conscientiousness, agreeableness, sexual anxiety, and religiosity” (Jay). The varying degrees of taboo present in both speakers and audiences impact the effect of curse words.

In the context of Chappelle’s stand-up skits and Pacino’s speech, the audiences are varied. In the case of Dave Chappelle, the argument that his jokes are funny on stage were met with criticisms due to his racial and homophobic cursing throughout his set. In the case of the Inch speech, the coach presents himself as an active unit of his team and seeks to motivate his team to win in an aggressive sport. By using a swearword in this context, the coach shows his (fictional) team that he is still one of them and he is outgoing and passionate about his faith in his team, thus making his argument an overall success. Using these two examples from popular media as evidence, I argue that curse words have contextual effects on an argument, on one hand an argument can be embellished by swearing and this embellishment can lead to the argument being more persuasive, on the other hand, curse words can offend an audience and can take away levels of agreement from the audience, weakening the strength of an argument.

Works Cited

Devices , 31 Oct. 2015, https://literarydevices .com/discourse/.

Goddard, Cliff. “‘Swear Words’ and ‘Curse Words’ in Australian (and American) English. At the Crossroads of Pragmatics, Semantics and Sociolinguistics.”  Intercultural Pragmatics , vol. 12, no. 2, Jan. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2015-0010 .

Jay, Timothy. “The Science of Swearing.”  APS Observer , vol. 25, no. 5, Apr. 2012, www.psychologicalscience .org/observer/the-science-of-swearing.

Feeling Rhetoric Copyright © 2022 by Chandler Cadman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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